morris mn - We're a community on the grand, seemingly endless prairie of the Upper Midwest. Empty, you might say? It's the epitome of richness, both in the overall environment and the hardy souls who populate. Morris is home to the University of Minnesota-Morris, a small public liberal arts college of distinction.

History-making music group for UMM - morris mn

The UMM men's chorus opened the Minnesota Day program at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair (Century 21 Exposition).

Monday, November 28, 2016

Law enforcement nervous about Wetterling resolution?

I considered this futile. (APM image)

Remember
that character in the movie "Rambo II" who was in a command position
but did not seem sympathetic? He wasn't overjoyed when hearing that
rescued POWs were on their way back. His character represented a microcosm of the Viet
Nam war, of course. The meme built up through the years is that we didn't
really want to win the war. The pressures of the Cold War held us back:
politics, expediency and the like. So, this commander at the U.S. base
didn't share the elation of the others, when word came of this obviously
good news that POWs were rescued and en route.

Plausible? Someone must have thought so. So, I'm connecting this subject to the resolution of the Jacob Wetterling investigation. Solving the case would seem obviously good news.
I
wrote a long time ago that authorities might show hesitance pushing
this matter to conclusion. The conclusion would be coming 27 years into
this high-profile investigation. People (like me) turned gray wondering
if there might ever be a ray of hope. That little boy seemed suspended
in time: eleven years old. The investigation also seemed suspended,
hopeless. And yet the wheels were turning feverishly.
Why might key public servants hold back on pushing this investigation to its
end? Just like that fictional commander from "Rambo II," extraneous considerations could hover and cause hesitance. I have written before
that resolution could open the door to lawsuits from people who were
interrogated in a heavy-handed way. Law enforcement was under intense
pressure to show it was making progress.
How do we define
"progress?" Do we define it as actually leading to what the public
obviously wanted: pinning down the guilty party, charging him etc.? But
law enforcement might have a different attitude, one of just pushing
certain buttons to follow procedures that might seem headed in the right
direction, even though skepticism was called for.
Think of that wanted
poster that was distributed all over. Every day when I'm at McDonald's,
I'll probably see at least one guy come in the door that bears some
resemblance to one of those drawings. They were like comic book
drawings. I had a college art instructor who would describe it as
"visual shorthand." People got paid to develop that poster and
distribute it, complete with the hyperbolic words "we MUST FIND these
men." Turns out one of the two drawings did look like the guilty party.
But what about the other? Who was the origin of that? It was based upon
an innocent party. Innocent parties were regularly dredged up in the
investigation.

The dubious John Sanner

The sheer horror of this crime made wrongful
accusations especially toxic. Law enforcement went so far as to declare a
"person of interest," equated in the public's
mind with "suspect," who was innocent. And now just as I predicted,
there is a lawsuit that will cause sleepless nights for certain people,
maybe including Sheriff John Sanner.

So many futile leads

The Wetterling
investigation has been called "massive and flailing." I have to wonder
if, at a certain point, people in law enforcement approached it like
they just appreciated being able to put in their eight-hour days and
make a nice living. Were they privately convinced that countless of
their leads or tips were pointless? Such a strange crime: a child just
vanishes. Miraculously, the offender spent those 27 years relatively
free of law enforcement contact. He was a suspect early-on. He covered
his tracks well enough.
So law enforcement went on this massive
search, certainly costing a great deal. Law enforcement had its agenda
and obligations. Book authors and bloggers had no such blinders. John
Walsh used the power of his nationally broadcast show to steer us in the
right direction. The FBI was involved in this case. Nevertheless, it
came down to a particular blogger and the attention she received on
Walsh's show. Neither is compensated for law enforcement services. Yet
they became the heroes.

The Rassier matter, in court
Now the Stearns County Sheriff's Department has to defend against the predicted lawsuit from this gentleman named Dan Rassier.

Law enforcement now has the huge embarrassment of revealing to the
public, pursuant to law, just how extensive its investigation was, how
many tips had to be filed etc.
This new fuss is caused by the
resolution of the case, the desired goal all along. And yet, to use the
words of John Mitchell of Watergate, law enforcement has its "tit in a
wringer" and instead of feeling euphoric, is scared (s--tless) and on the defensive. Oh they'll deny that. It's no picnic having lawyers swarm around, like that Anfinson guy of the Minnesota Newspaper Association who has worked to try to get a 9-1-1 recording released. And then there's the attorney for Rassier with whom I share best wishes and good luck.
Sheriff Sanner is on the hot seat. Is it true that Patty Wetterling, allegedly coached by the sheriff's department, wrote a letter to Rassier asking him to confess? To a crime of this magnitude of evil? Has she since apologized to Rassier, the elementary music teacher? Patty wore a wire at one point to accost Rassier.
Investigators got a search warrant in 2010 to dig on the Rassiers'
property. I remember checking an online comment board at the time.
There was a picture showing all the heavy equipment at the scene, all
the commotion. Yes, all of this cost taxpayers' money. Someone wrote:
"They had better be sure this is the guy." Hmmm. Rassier
was "guilty" of being an adult living with his parents, and that was
the whole problem. It's a more commonly seen living arrangement today.
Amazingly, Sanner was quoted in a September 24 news article saying he had no regrets about the investigative efforts toward Rassier. As a public servant, he should always regret when an innocent private citizen is hassled or abused. Sanner argued that suspicion vs. Rassier
was justified based on "the way he answered questions." He would not
elaborate, which would have been a nice favor for readers who had no
knowledge of the background. So he just sort of smears Rassier with this ad hominem statement. Rassier must have just "seemed guilty," in Sanner's
view. But now that we know of the man's total innocence, isn't it time
to stop talking like that? Isn't it in fact time to be generous and
gentle with the innocent elementary music teacher? Sanner further justified the suspicion on the basis that Rassier was "there alone that night." Really? Is Rassier
to be faulted for those two facts? Being at that location and being
alone? He was on his own property. Does he not have the right to be on
his own property and to be home alone? And yet Sanner cites this as a basis for suspicion.
"Shame on us if we don't do what we did," the sheriff was quoted saying.
No, shame on you anyway, Mr. Sanner. I'm sure you are justifiably embarrassed over how the whole Wetterling
matter deteriorated into a whole bunch of people technically fulfilling their obligations, until eventually a couple parties motivated by pure zeal got
involved and pushed the case to resolution. Sheriff Sanner, you are stupid and cold-hearted.

What attitude to take re. the guilty party?

We
have read some scorn directed at the guilty person, Danny Heinrich.
People are incensed that he won't say why he did it. Well, isn't it
obvious? Heinrich had compulsions that an ordinary person would not
understand, like that Sandusky
guy out in Pennsylvania. There is no point venting scorn at these
people. They simply must be segregated off so they don't harm anyone.
They are pathetic, misdirected souls, created by God for unfathomable
reasons. But scorn?
Let me elaborate this way: let's say a person
steals $1,000 and gets away with it. That person can at least gain
pleasure from spending the $1,000. In cases like Heinrich and Sandusky,
normal people cannot conceive of any pleasure gained from the crime -
it wouldn't cross our minds to commit it. We would obviously be revulsed
at the thought. So we're punishing someone for doing something that
normal people would not even conceive of? Heinrich must simply be put
away. Condemning him is pointless.
What if Heinrich hadn't been into child porn? He might never have been arrested. His punishment won't even be for the Wetterling
crime. It will be for the child porn. After 20 years he'll stay
confined but it will be in a situation that is not defined as punishment
- it's defined as treatment. I hope the treatment helps him - he had a
very troubled background.

Holding law enforcement accountable
I'm not sure I'd want to be Rassier's
lawyer because it's rather an uphill battle going after law
enforcement. Efforts at holding law enforcement accountable seem to be
breaking through and making progress. A police officer in the Twin
Cities has been charged with a needless death.
We pray that this
type of aggressive law enforcement will not come to Morris MN. But you
never know. Us U.S. citizens have elected an all-out bully as president.
We read Saturday of a judge who is apparently a slumlord in St. Cloud.
We
have a retired judge here in Morris who once made an unbelievable
comment at a public meeting that included the epitome of a racist term,
for which Mayor Carol Wilcox issued a public apology in the newspaper.
We
cannot assume that our public servants all carry themselves in an
exemplary manner. And to think they're worried about me because I
haven't always worn my seat belt in the past!
I'd be happy sometime to share the quote word for word from the retired judge. I imagine there'd be some people at UMM
a little concerned or agitated. One more traffic stop and I could do
this (share the quote). But of course, Mom and I always put on our seat belts
automatically now. Maybe they'll catch me making a lane change without
signalling, like that Sandra Bland down in Texas who lost her life
because of it.
I'm pleased to know that my personal character is
higher, apparently, than that of many people in our law
enforcement/judicial system.

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Science building at UMM

Click on the image to reach the website of the University of Minnesota-Morris (UMM). Our institution is known as the "jewel in the crown" of the U.

Origin of our town name:

Our community was platted in 1871. Our nation was putting the Civil War behind it and flexing its muscles to the west. Morris was named after a railroad engineer. By midsummer of 1871, the village had become a tent town with a depot, an emigrant house and about eleven saloons. Victorian homes here in the 1880s spelled prosperity.

"Your home on the prairie"

Click on this image to reach the "I Love Morris" website, the older of my two websites (or blogs) - B.W.

An anchor of main street:

Eul's Hardware is an iconic old building on main street (Atlantic Avenue). It's believed to be the oldest building on Atlantic. It was built for the newly established First National Bank. The two-story, 25 x 75 foot building cost about $6000. In 1940 John Eul bought the (then) Citizens Bank building for his hardware operation. He added an addition in 1947. The Euls continue to oversee the business.

"Home of the people lovers"

Click on the image to reach the Willie's Super Valu website. It's the premier full-service grocery store of Stevens County. It's named for the late iconic Willie Martin.

Let there be lights!

What a milestone (and life changer): In the spring of 1897 the first electric lights in the village of Morris came on. A quote from the time: "Our quiet and inoffensive village was suddenly dropped out of the appalling abyss of darkness into the glare of electric sunshine." My, we take it for granted today.

The great Kirby Puckett

Click on the image to listen to a song written by your blog host, Brian Williams, about Kirby Puckett in 1997. The song was recorded in Nashville TN. It was put online in the fall of 2014 (finally). Kirby Puckett left us too soon. He was at home in the Dome!

Stevens County Courthourse

This new complex houses our Stevens County government and services. Click on the image ro reach the official county website.

Wildlife of the early days:

Nature romped with fair abundance within sight of Morris' early residents. Buffalo were seen roving around the prairie east of the Pomme de Terre River. Elk, deer and lynx were numerous, and bear were also seen in a few places. Today, a rare black bear that wanders into town causes a great stir!

Wildflowers just outside Morris

Click on this image to reach the "Minnesota wildflowers" website.

School of distinction:

UMM is an undergraduate liberal arts campus of the University of Minnesota. What a joy it was for Morris to land this, at a time when the old "ag school" on the campus was being phased out. UMM's mission is highly distinctive as an academically rigorous public undergraduate residential liberal arts college. The U of M board of regents established it in 1959.

First Lutheran Church - morris mn

Click on the image to reach the website for First Lutheran Church, an ELCA-affiliated church in east Morris. It's my church - B.W.

Roots of our community:

The first stopping place in Stevens County was Gager's Station, considered by some historians to be one of the more important stopping places on the Wadsworth Trail. The station was nestled among the trees near Wintermute Lake.

Pomme de Terre River - mn

Click on the image to reach the website for the Pomme de Terre River Association. The river flows to the east of Morris, toward Appleton, and eventually joins the Minnesota River.

Lemonade from lemons?

Pomme de Terre Park, Morris' largest and most developed park, probably came about as a direct result of the Depression.

Stevens County Museum - morris mn

Click on this image of our Stevens County Museum to call up the website for the Stevens County Historical Society. The county has a bountiful history. The museum building was originally a Carnegie library. It's on the west side of town. Our public library today is on the east side.

Wind turbines - morris mn

This image includes one of the two grand wind turbines that are a defining feature of Morris. The image also shows the overlook which is part of the WCROC horticulture garden. Those initials stand for "West Central Research and Outreach Center." The turbines are closely associated with the WCROC and the University of Minnesota-Morris (UMM). Click on the image to read background about renewable energy in Morris.

About Me

Brian Williams is a former writer in the Morris "dead tree" media who plies his pastime in the wonderful, liberating new media today. He refuses to consider himself an alternative journalist because the web is now the mainstream. Newspapers are in rapid retreat and it won't be long before they will exist in vestigial form only. Print media will not die because as a media observer put it: "We will always have print media for as long as there's a 'print' button on your computer." A once weekly newspaper (like in Morris) won't cut it. It's not consistent with our instant gratification culture. But the media are blossoming more than ever thanks to all the new tools. It's an uplifting, "green" new universe. Key word suggestions: morris mn - hancock mn - donnelly mn - cyrus mn - chokio mn - alberta mn - 56267 - stevens county - morris theater mn - morris area tigers - hancock owls.

Our old historic Morris Theater

It shows signs of age but we love it. Click on the image to reach the website for our Morris Theater Co-op.

Is this our world?

"In a consumer society, there are inevitably two kinds of slaves: the prisoners of addiction and the prisoners of envy."-Ivan Illich

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Historic Stanton House

This 19th Century mansion was originally occupied by Lewis Stanton, son of Edwin Stanton who was U.S. secretary of war under Abraham Lincoln. Click on the image to read a post on the subject from the "I Love Morris" site.

Landmark of long ago

Frisby's Grove was situated between two lakes in Section 22, Morris Township. It became a popular place to stop. Mrs. Frisby was known as a good cook and kind person. The place became popular with emigrants and land seekers.

Morris Public Library - mn

Click on the image to reach the website of the Morris Public Library, a rich asset of the community. It can seem like a beehive sometimes! If serves all ages and interests wonderfully. Our librarian is the dynamic Melissa Yauk.